Cohn, Gecel (Gotzel)

  General Notes:

He moved to Odessa where he had a bank with his brother Szlama (information from the memoirs of Ita Yellin). It appears he also lived in Brody and got merried there. In the All Galicia Database of the website "Gesher Galicia" there is a marriag e record of a man named Gotzel Wolf Cohn and Selde Antel in Brody. The marriage was registered on July 7, 1844. Also a man named Gezel Kohn had a son born in Brody named Moses L. Kohn. He was born on October 28, 1843, so the marriage was probab ly a late registration.

Gecel Wolf Cohn was a son of Wolf Michel Cohn and Sora Rochel nee Cohn. We don't know his exact date of birth but he was probably born in either 1822, 1823, or 1824, since there is a sutiable gap between the births of his sister Chaia (b. Cec. 9 , 1821) and his sister Estera (b. July 30, 1825). It seems fairly certain that he moved to Brody, since there are some records there of a man named Gotzel Wolf Cohn. However, according to the Brody Jewish Census Records, from the year 1850, he w as born in 1815. But this might not be correct since the sons of Wolf Michel Cohn in his death record appear to be listed in order beginning with the eldest. In this case Gecel would be born after Mosiek who was born in 1820.

According to a police report from Oct. 1863 Gotzel was 43 years old in 1863, therefore born circa 1820.

In the All Galicia Database of the website "GEsher Galicia" there is a marriage record of a man named Gotzel Wolf Cohn and Selde Antel in Brody. The marriage was registered on July 1844. This might be a late registration since. Gotzel and Seld e had a son born in Brody on Oct. 28, 1843. Gotzel [spelled Getzel], Selde and Moses Leyb are listed in the Brody Census with the house #1193.

According to the census Selde was born in 1824. Her birth record in Gesher Galicia is May 21, 1823, daughter of Leib Antel. Her mother must have been Reikel Reich. Reikel's marriage with Leib Antel was registered in Brody on May 1, 1823. She d ied on Oct. 8, 1824. Leib Antel married again to Chaie Jolles, registered in Brody on May 11, 1825.

Some information about Gotzel Wolf Cohn pertaining to a bankruptcy case appeared in German language newspapers in 1859 and 1863. In May 1859 the case was opened in Zloczoww. His name appears along with Golde Aronsohn, in connection with the Brod y firm Hersch Reich's successors. Golde Aronsohn was a sister of Gotzel's wife Selde. IN 1863 there is information about Gotzel Wolf Cohn in some police newspapers. He was accused of committing the crime of fraud, that is, fraudulent bnkruptcy . The police report gives a detailed report of his travels in 1858. It includes a physical description noting that he customarily wore "elegant German clothing."

We know more facts about Gecel Wolf Cohn from the memoirs of his great niece Ita nee Pines Yellin. She writes that he moved to Odessa where he had a bank with his brother Szlama (Salomon). Gecel later moved to Eretz Israel. This was after Necha ma Karlinski's husband (Noach Karlinski) left Israel to return to Russia. Ita Yellin writes that he was about 70 years old. Noach Karlinski had tried to purchase some land in Kfar Saba but was unsuccessful.

Nechama was a sister of Ita Yellin [see the information listing the children of HInda Cohn and Noach Pines].

Gecel moved to Israel after his wife's death after 1896, and then he lived in Jaffa in Yechiel Pine's house. His only son, his wiefe and their child remained in Odessa. There they continued to work in the bank with Gecel's brother Szlama. The y sent profits from the bank to Gecel who used the money to purchase the Kfar Saba land along with the partners of Noach Karlinski.

We don't know exactly when Gecel moved to Israel, but it must have been after 1879. This is because Ita Yellin writes that when the PInes family traveled to Eretz Israel in 1879 they stopped on the way in Odessa where they saw Szlama (Salomon) Co hn and his brother Gecel.

We don't know where Gecel Wolf Cohn died. But since he moved to Israel he might have died there and might be buried there.

In JRI-Poland, in the database "Vsis Rossia [All Russia] 1895, 1899, 1903, 1911" (information taken from a business directory) we can find some references to Salomon Kon, and Kogan, son of Vol'f. Gecel does not appear in the directory for these y ears, so we can assume he was in Israel for these years, and probably remained there. Here is the information:
1. KOGAN, Solomon, son of Vol'f, haberdasher, 1895. Address in Odessa" Rishel'evskaia, # not shown.
2. KOGAN, [given name not shown] cigarette wrapper and cartridge case factory, 1895. Address in Odessa: Rishel'evskaia, # not shown. [he might be Salomon, son of Vol'f, since his address is also Rishel'evskaia, just like Solomon Kogan the habe rdasher listed above].
3. KOGAN, Solomon, son of Vol'f, paraffin candle factory, 1899. Address in Odessa: Lipinskii Lane 61.
4. KOGAN, Solomon, son of Vol'f, candle store, 1899. Address in Odessa: B. Amautskaia, Barbosh building.
5. KON, Solomon, son of Vol'f, middleman/broker agency, 1903. Address in Odessa: Ekaterninskaia, street 3 not shown.

Gecel married Selde Antel, daughter of Leib Antel and Reikel Reich, in Brody, Galicia, Poland. (Selde Antel was born in 1824.)